The Shanghai Affair
by YannoC
Summary: Chon wants to be with Roy, but can they get past the initial attraction and build a real emotional relationship despite the prejudices Roy grew up with? M for some language


It had been a rough day. Chon was tired. They had taken in a new gang of bandits who had tried to rob Carson City's bank. It was late and he had just finished some paperwork that had needed to be done. He was straightening up the sheriff's office half-heartedly in preparation for the next day. The door creaked open slowly and without glancing up Chon knew it was Roy.

He released a small sigh as Roy came up behind him. Chon could sense the other cowboy's desire. It was thick in the air and apparent on his heaving breath. He hoped that maybe Roy would see that he was not really in the mood.

Roy slipped his hands under Chon's arms and over his chest, fingers scrabbling at the buttons that held the Chinaman's shirt on. "John, oh God," Roy nuzzled his face against his neck, ignoring his partner's unresponsiveness. He pulled Chon's shirt open and tugged his suspenders off. The blonde cowboy's heart skipped a beat as the muscular back of his companion was revealed from beneath the clothes. Chon had a remarkable physique and Roy was intoxicated by it.

Roy laid a kiss on Chon's shoulder and traced his tongue along the Chinaman's cinnamon brown skin, up his neck and ended by nipping at his ear. Chon stiffened with a sharp intake of breath. Roy took it as a good sign and ground his hips against him, wanting Chon to feel the lust that he inspired. Roy's hands slid down the front of Chon's chest, running over his muscular stomach and coming to stop at his pants. He began to undo them, whispering the dirty things he wanted Chon to do with his mouth and the things that he was going to do to Chon.

Suddenly, to his surprise, Chon's strong hands gripped his wrists, stopping him. Roy froze in anticipation. Did he do something wrong? His question was answered when Chon pushed him away.

"What?" Roy yelped. "What did I do?"

He saw that Chon's face was twisted with anger. "I do not want to be your..." he searched for the correct term, "...quick fuck, Roy! I hate when you do this."

Roy felt wounded. "John, I thought you felt the same way. You said you wanted to have this."

Chon shook his head, crossing his arms defensively. "I want to be with you. But you will not even look at me during it, or after!" He snarled something in Chinese, his English failing to carry across his true feelings. Roy heard the hurt, anger and frustration in the Chinaman's voice and became defensive himself.

"I'm not exactly comfortable with this either, John! I'm trying to adjust to it. I've only ever liked women before, and here you come out of fuckin nowhere!"

"You do not even have the respect to look me in the eyes!" Chon yelled, "And you have never kissed me. Not once! But you have no problem kissing any common whore!"

A proverbial knife slid into Roy's heart. He looked at Chon, who was shaking. His normally well kept hair was mussed and Roy saw the sloppy job he had done undressing him. Ice seemed to wash over the blonde cowboy. Chon, his best friend, looked like any bordello girl Roy had slept with in the past; half-undressed and hastily fucked. No emotion tied in, simply physical gratification.

Roy's silence disgusted Chon. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, Roy would be the man to make him forget the princess. Instead, he had been used for Roy's own selfish needs. Turning away, he punched the wall. It cracked satisfyingly around his fist, leaving a good sized hole. Chon's boot heels clicked on the floor as he walked away.

Panic filled Roy. Each step Chon took made a click which echoed in his head. If he let Chon leave now, he would lose him as a lover and more importantly, as a friend.

"John!" he shouted. The Chinaman stopped and looked over his shoulder. Roy ran to him. He grabbed Chon's arms. "John, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm so sorry. I was trying so hard to get used to this that I forgot about how you felt. I do want to be with you! I've been such an ass, I'm so sorry."

Chon raised his eyebrows. His brown eyes were still filled with hurt, but Roy could see a little hope glimmering there. Wanting to fan the flame of that hope, Roy rushed on: "I couldn't figure out why you were the exception, John. I had always wanted women and it was too late to get rid of my reputation. I also didn't want to ruin our friendship with stupid feelings, so when you made the first move, I-" Roy leaned forward and crushed his lips against Chon's. He wanted to convey everything he was feeling but words were inadequate. He closed his eyes tight and waited for Chon to beat him back with some kung fu.

To his immense surprise, Roy felt Chon's mouth open to his. Their tongues met tentatively, exploring with caution. Soon the kiss deepened. Chon heaved Roy up and sat him on the sheriff's desk in their office. They finished undressing each other, a messy process that left some clothes in need of mending. Chon laid Roy back on the desk and straddled his hips. Roy ran his eyes over his friend, drinking in every detail. He loved the way the Chinaman's black hair curled over his shoulders and fell around his neck. He loved the look of lust on Chon's face. He loved the sweat that made his skin gleam.

Chon bent over the blonde cowboy, breaking his train of thought. He took Roy's lips in a ferocious kiss. He was quite aggressive, using his superior strength to dominate. Roy didn't mind. It was an interesting change of pace compared to the sex with women he had had before, and even though Chon was rough, Roy could feel a certain amount of tenderness and care which made every bite and hard thrust delicious.

When they had finished (an apocalyptic event that Chon had skilfully brought about), Roy was exhausted. Chon had proven to be the best bed partner he had ever had.

"John, that was amazing," he said breathlessly. "I had no idea."

Chon rolled into him, letting Roy put his arms around him. "You never gave me the chance."

"I guess," Roy paused, "I guess I cast you in a more feminine light." He laughed wholeheartedly. "I always played myself in the "man's role" when it came to us."

Chon had to laugh at that.

It was very difficult to keep their relationship secret. They worked side by side each day and it took great personal strength to keep from doing the little things that couples do: hold hands, whisper secretively together, good bye kisses. At first, Chon was confused as to why Roy wouldn't touch him in public. Roy had to explain to Chon that sleeping with another man in America was a huge taboo. In China, Chon told him, homosexual sex was not looked upon any differently than heterosexual sex. If the men continued their family line, there was no problem.

After having long talks about their relationship and the differences between America and China, Chon came to understand why Roy had been so terribly awkward about coming to terms with loving another man. He was fighting the prejudices he had grown up with, the same prejudices that everyone around them shared.

Yielding to the need to stay secretive, the need for romance was still strong with Chon. He was more emotional than Roy. He often wanted to ride off for a weekend together alone, go camping. Unfortunately, because they were the sheriffs, they could not just simply up and leave, therefore he was always doing little things that made Roy's day that much brighter.

Once Roy had come home from a night out at the saloon and found Chon sitting in the kitchen wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, Roy's old trail riding boots and a coy smile. Roy had thought the gesture so inexplicable erotic that he still turned red when thinking about it. Their sex that night had been the best he ever had. Chon had ridden him like a bronco, whispering and coercing him in Chinese.

Regardless of what Roy had found in Chon, he still felt restless. He loved Chon, he knew that, but something in him still spurred him to travel. He fought the urge every day. He did not want to leave Chon, but Carson City was becoming boring.

Chon could see that his lover was unhappy. He felt relief in knowing that it wasn't unhappiness with him but some other factor. He remembered Roy describing himself to Falling Leaves as a wild horse. If you closed the gates, the horse would jump them and be gone. But if you left the doors open and put oats in the trough, the horse would be back to nibble at the end of every day. Chon supposed that it was time that he stopped trying to break the horse. Roy was a free spirit and could not be reined in.

"Roy," Chon said one night. They had finished supper and were sitting comfortably in the light from a hung lantern.

"Hmm?"

Chon held out his hand. Roy took it, marvelling for a moment at the stark contrast between their hands. His was pale and long fingered, unmarred by anything but calluses. Chon's hands were dark and scarred from what Roy assumed was training when he was younger. The Chinaman squeezed his hand in a powerful grip. A smile danced on his face. "Roy, I want to show you something."

Roy expected Chon to lead him to the bedroom. Instead, Chon took him out the back door. They walked for ten minutes until they cleared the town's limits. Chon took off his duster jacket and laid it out on the sand. He motioned for Roy to do the same.

They lay back on their jackets. "What now?" Roy asked.

Chon pointed up. "Look. Stars."

Roy did as told. "Yeah? So?"

A chuckle came from his lover. "Be quiet, Roy. You'll see."

Roy fell silent. He kept his eyes glued to the sky. Maybe it was a Chinese thing. Maybe there was going to be shooting stars. A soft desert wind blew across them, warm air cooling as it moved. Crickets sounded somewhere in the distance, as well as a bark of a desert fox. Horses nickered in their stalls back in Carson City, the noise carrying on the breeze.

The stars up above twinkled. They were beautiful bright lights set against an inky backdrop. Roy had often stopped to look at the stars, but this time something felt different. Without taking his eyes off the sky, he reached across and touched Chon's arm.

"I love you," Roy said quietly.

"I love you too," Chon rolled onto his side, turning to look at his lover. "Roy, are you unhappy here?"

Roy closed his eyes. "I'm not unhappy, John. I'm just restless. I've never stayed in one place for so long. I finally have a reason to stay somewhere and I can't shake the feeling that I gotta move."

Chon rolled again, positioning himself on top of Roy. Their noses were practically touching. Chon's hair fell forward and created a curtain over their faces. "Roy, if you need to leave... I understand. I do. But can you give me time before you go? Give me a date, tell me when you'll leave, but give me warning."

The blonde cowboy wrapped his arms around Chon, pulling him into a hot kiss. Chon interpreted that as a yes.

The next morning, Roy gave Chon his warning.

"I'm leaving in a month."

Chon looked up. Roy was standing in the doorway of their bedroom. He winced and came to sit on the bed next to Chon.

"In a month?" Chon asked slowly. "So soon."

"I know," Roy wrapped his hand around the tassel of Chon's hair. He ran his fingers through it, treasuring the silkiness. In a month, he wouldn't be able to do that anymore. Holding the ponytail out of the way, he pressed his lips against Chon's neck.

The light touch of Roy's lips made a wave of desire explode in Chon. He turned and pulled Roy into a hard kiss, using all of his strength to push him back on the bed.

"Chon!" Roy gasped, breaking free.

"Hush Roy," Chon's accent had become thicker, "I'm going to lose you soon and-" He trailed off and then exclaimed loudly in Chinese. Roy had slid his hands into the waistband of Chon's pants and had fit his palms into the hollows of his hips.

"Take this off," Roy grunted.

Chon obliged him and countered by stripping the blonde cowboy in turn. The Chinaman kept Roy pinned to the bed with his muscular legs. Roy was, as always, impressed with Chon's build. Muscles rippled beneath his smooth, brown skin. It was almost like watching a horse in action: beautiful and majestic. Roy ran his hands up Chon's thighs; a small contented sigh escaped his lips.

The Chinese sheriff grinned at him and flexed his thighs. The muscles stood out, highly defined in the morning sun. Roy tilted his head back, lips parting in a return smile. Chon was beautiful. Not in a traditional sense, mind, but beautiful all the same.

Their mouths met again. It was hot, furious and ripe with sexual tension. Soon they were caught in a tangle of limbs and bed sheets.

Roy left a month later. It crushed Chon to watch him leave, but he knew that it was best for them.

"Come out and see me sometime," Roy had told him. "I'll find us a nice place. You know what I'm going to do? Get a girl pregnant."

Chon had been confused at that, and a bit hurt. A girl? Did he really need a girl?

"If she's a prostitute," Roy had continued, "She won't want to keep it. It can be _our_ baby, Chon. We can raise it. You know that I want a family."

Yes. It was a good plan. Chon had nodded, and kissed his lover deeply. They would reunite soon, Roy would invest their money and they would hopefully be a family. It was perfect.


End file.
